Handbrake arrangement for railway flat cars

ABSTRACT

A HANDBRAKE ARRANGEMENT FOR A FLAT DECK RAILWAY CAR WHEREIN THE HANDBRAKE IS POSITIONED BELOW THE DECK AND WITHIN AAR CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS, THE SIDE SILL OF THE CAR HAVING AN APERTURE ACCOMMODATING THE BRAKE HOUSING, AND SAID HOUSING BEING SO MOUNTED AND HAVING PROVISIONS WHEREBY THE CHAIN AND ROD MECHANISM WHICH IS CONNECTED TO THE FOUNDATION BRAKE RIGGING AND HANDBRAKE EXTENDS THEREBETWEEN IN A DIRECT LINEAR RELATION WITHOUT THE REQUIREMENTS OF EITHER PULLEYS OR GUIDES.

D. B. YATES HANDBRAKE ARRANGEMENT FOR RAILWAY FLAT CARS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 9, 1971 Filed A ril 5. 1969 Hhu , INVENTOR DONALD B YATES ull F b.9, 1971 I 2- ma ma 3,561,284

HANDBRAKE ARRANGEMENT FOR RAILWAY FLAT CARS Filed April 5, 1969 2SheetS-Sheet 2 m "F153 fi E29 a l f@. i 55 w I 28 T. f l m 2O 47 I 22 L 43' v w gFl INVENTOR A DONALD B. YATES United States Patent 3,561,284 HANDBRAKE ARRANGEMENT FOR RAILWAY FLAT CARS Donald B. Yates, Park Forest, 11]., assignor to Pullman Incorporated, Chicago, III., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 3, 1969, Ser. No. 813,217 Int. Cl. F16h 21/44; B65j 1/28 US. Cl. 74-506 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE SUMMARY It is the prime object of this invention to provide an improved handbrake arrangement for a railway flat car which is mounted below the deck of the car and within the side clearance requirements of the AAR. The mounting arrangement includes a bracket structure which connects the housing enclosing the handbrake mechanism to the longitudinal stringers extending underneath the deck of the car. The side sill is also apertured and suitably reinforced so that a portion of the housing projects inwardly from the side sill. The mounting is such that the chain from the handbrake mechanism extends in a direct linear manner to the brake lever in contrast to a circuitous extension provided by guide pulleys or other guide means which are prevalent in the prior art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an end portion of a railway car having portions thereof broken away to show the rigging from a handbrake mechanism;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the end of a railway car shown in FIG. 1 with portions of the deck broken away;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a handbrake mechanism and its connection to a conventional foundation brake rigging;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the end of a railway car and showing a handbrake mechanism mounting arrangement; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 55 of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIG. 1 a railway flat car includes a conventional deck structure 11 provided on opposite sides thereof with side sills 12. The flat car 10 includes an underframe 13 supported on conventional wheeled trucks 14 (shown schematically). A plurality of longitudinally extending stringers 15, as best shown in FIG. 5, are connected to the underneath side of the deck structure I11- A plurality of transversely extending longitudinally spaced supports 17 are connected to the stringers 15. As best shown in FIG. 4, the car 10 is also provided with a conventional step 18 and a hand-hold 19 projecting upwardly above the deck structure 11.

Referring now particularly to FIG. 4 the handbrake structure is generally designated at 20 and includes a conventional housing 21. The details of the handbrake structure and the operation thereof are not described in detail since it is a commercial product of the Equipco Handbrake Division of Unarco Industries, Inc., 104 S. Michigan, Chicago, Ill. and is designated High Powered Handbrake, Thin Type Lever, Model No. 5000, AAR Certificate No. 42. The handbrake includes a housing 21 suitably connected to a vertical flat plate 22, said housing being provided at one end, as best shown in FIG. 4, with an opening 23. The housing 21 includes a conventional handbrake mechanism in the form of a rotatable gear and reel means 24 operated by a suitable gear or ratchet 25 in turn driven by a pinion arrangement generally designated at 26. The pinion arrangement 26 is actuated by means of a manual handle 27 which is pivoted in clockwise and counterclockwise relation. A release handle 28 is provided for releasing the gear 24 from a hold or on-brake position. The pinion arrangement 26 and handle 27 are moved between stops 29 and 30 supported on the outer surface of the vertical plate 22.

A flexible member in the form of a chain 31 is suitably connected to the gear 24 and is, as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, connected to a rod 32 which extends in a linear direction from the opening 23 through carriers 33 supported on the transverse supports 17. The end of the rod 32 is connected to a chain 34 in turn connected to the brake lever 35 which is suitably connected to a brake cylinder 36. The brake rigging is of a conventional foundation type and includes a link 37 connected to a lever 38 which is pivotally anchored to the car .10 as indicated at 39 and extends to the brakes (not shown) at one end of the car. The lever 35 is also connected to a slack adjuster 40 in turn connected to a brake lever 41 which in turn is pivotally anchored to the car as indicated at 42 and extends to and actuates the brakes (not shown) at the other end of the car.

As best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the handbrake structure 20 is connected to the side sill 12 by means of a pair of longitudinally spaced Z-shaped brackets 43 and 44 which in turn are suitably connected to the flat plate 22. The side sill 12 on one side of the car 10, as shown in FIG. 4, is provided with a rectangular aperture 45 through which the inner side of the housing 21 projects inwardly of said side sill 12. A diagonal brace 46 is connected by means of a horizontal flanged end 47 to a channel member 16 connected to the deck 11 and is connected at its lower end by means of a flanged portion 48 to the housing 21. A bracket 49 is suitably welded to the inner face of the housing 21 and is also connected to the brace 46, the said bracket 49 including a vertical and transversely extending portion 50 which is wrapped around the vertical plate 22. An angle-shaped reinforcement 51 includes a flange 52 connected to the inner face of the side sill 12 and a horizontal flange 53 in turn connected to one of the stringers 15. The flanges 52 and 53 have suitably connected thereto at opposite ends thereof, gussets or webs 54 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Upon actuation of the manual lever 27 in a clockwise movement, as operated by the brakeman standing on the step 18, and grasping the hand-hold 19, the brake mechanism can be operated to set the brakes as desired in a conventional manner. The mounting of the handbrake structure 20 is such that easy access and operation is provided for the brakeman and the direct linear relation of the chain and rod provides for a prompt and positive braking action and operation of the lever 35 since conventional idler pulleys used in circuitous routing have been eliminated. The structure 20 is disposed below the deck so therefore is in an out-of-the-way position and is recessed sufiiciently inwardly through the aperture 45 in the side wall 12 to provide the clearance desired. As shown in FIG. 4, after the brakes have been set, the release thereof may be accomplished in a simple fashion by the brakeman pulling upwardly on the link 55 which is pivotally connected to the release lever 28. The link 55 extends through the apertured plate 56 mounted on the side sill 12 and the operator has ready access to the handle 57 of the link 55 for releasing the brakes. Thus it is believed clear that the object of the invention has been fully achieved by the structure shown and described.

What is claimed is:

1. A railway car having a substantially fiat deck structure including an underframe supported on wheel trucks, said deck structure having connected thereto on opposite sides thereof longitudinally extending vertical side sills, a plurality of longitudinally extending stringers supporting said deck structure and being positioned in horizontally spaced relation relative to each other and said side sills, a plurality of transversely extending support members supporting said longitudinal stringers, and an operators step and hand support connected to said car adjacent one end thereof, the improvement comprising: a handbrake structure comprising an operating mechanism including a housing containing rotatable means adapted to receive and dispense a flexible member in winding and unwinding relation, a supporting structure for attaching said brake structure to one of said side sills substantially adjacent to said step and hand support,

said housing projecting downwardly below and outwardly with respect to one of said vertical side sills, said housing including an open end disposed in a vertical plane disposed laterally outwardly from said last vertical side sill, a hand lever projecting outwardly and vertically upwardly from said housing and said side sill adapted to be manually moved in clockwise direction for actuating said operating mechanism, a brake cylinder mounted on said car below said deck structure, a brake lever connected to said brake cylinder, and a flexible member connected to said brake lever and to said mechanism,

said flexible member extending longitudinally and directly linearly below said deck structure from said brake lever through said open end to said rotatable means.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said side sill adjacent said step and hand support having a portion aperturd to receive an upper portion of said housing, and said supporting structure including a first bracket connected to a rear portion of said housing and to an outer portion of said sill, and a second bracket connecting a rear portion of said housing with the underside of said deck structure.

3. The invention as defined in claim 2 including a reinforcing member connected to an inner, portion of side sill adjacent said apertured portion and being connected to one of said longitudinal stringers.

4. The invention in accordance with claim 3, including a manual release lever pivotally connected to said housing below said hand lever, and an actuating link connected to said release lever and supported on said side sill adjacent said step support.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 857,752 6/1907 Pfingst 74-506 870,707 11/190-7 Wortman 74506 1,248,480 12/1917 Greenway 74-506 1,872,063 8/1932 Camp 74506 2,618,170 11/1952 Mulcahy 74-506 3,163,128 12/1964 Enochian l05368 M. CARY NELSON, Primary Examiner W. S. RATLIFF, JR., Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

